Loud music warning falls on deaf ears
By Mark A. Smith and Michael P. D’Antonio, Washington Post staff writers
After several weeks of intense public scrutiny and media interest, the state Department of Health has decided to ban loud music from schools for the rest of the year.
«They may have not given us a lot of information, but this is the next step,» said Karen O’Neill, director of the office of transportation. «We think there’s some information out there. This is more informa안전 카지노tion for us to go through and decide if we can find it.»
On Oct. 7, the Department of Health sent out a notice, called an emergency proclamation, informing schools that no children could wear headphones i세븐 럭 카지노바카라 출 목표n their school buses to encourage children to stay focused on school activities.
The agency is also proposing that the transportation department change bus policies to allow headphones in classrooms. However, transportation director Kevin J. Houghton said he’s not sure if that would allow for the use of headphones at all.
At least one local elementary school in the Washington, D.C., area would welcome the ban, the school district announced Monday, a move it said will allow schools with more students to concentrate on students’ needs.
That decision was backed by other schools in suburban Washington, D.C., and several schools in the Northwest, where officials said that some parents had raised safety concerns about a school’s use of headphones.
The administration of Washington’s governor said the ban will allow drivers to make it clear to the drivers of school buses that there is a sound on board and that drivers will make noise when a call, like emergency, comes from that bus.
«The public is going to have to accept the fact that people are sitting on the side of the road in front of cars, or sitting in the back, with an iPod or something that can generate a noise that we will not like,» Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in a news conference.
Under the ban, the sound will not be played for students in all classes, but only in schools where school hours are shorter than two hours.
«It’s going to be a bit more aggressive,» said D.C. Public Schools Chief Information Officer Amy McCord-Baldwin, who oversees the schools that were affected by the ban. «It will be more of a deterrent.»
If a school board decides to put headphones in front of a classroom to prevent distracted students from disrupting school hours, McCord
